Fodor's may use your email address to send you relevant information on site updates, account changes, and offers. For more information about your privacy and protection, please review our full Privacy Policy.

Milan itinerary possibility questions

I've suddenly gotten a relatively last-minute chance (ca. one month out) with a small group of folks (not a tour or anything like that) to visit Milan and some surrounding areas in Northern Italy. Will be based in Milan, which is non-negotiable. Am thinking I've got "one to one-and-a-half full days" to sight-see in Milan and am trying to set up an itinerary, given the time available. Flight and lodging is set.

Re a Last Supper ticket, it's too late to get them from the websites I've checked -- just didn't have enough lead time here. Will try to see what I can do via the hotel concierge, as I've seen suggestions to do on this forum. Here's hoping, as if it comes through, I'll definitely make time for it. If he/she can arrange for a ticket, what's an appropriate amount to tip the person?

There are a couple churches near the area that may make for a good short stop-in to include along the way, such as the Chiesa Santa Maria Presso di San Satiro or Chiesa di Sant'Ambrogio. The Museo Nazionale della Scienza e delle Tecnica Leonardo da Vinci doesn't interest me given the short amount of time available.

A couple questions:

--given my interests in art and historic matters, are there any other major attractions I'm missing?

--of the three art museums, I'm guessing the "must see" factor for these in descending order would be: Brera, Ambrosiana, Poldi-Pezzoli. Any dissenting thoughts on this ordering?

--descriptions of the Poldi-Pezzoli suggest it's a small house-style art museum in the manner of the Frick in NYC or Gardner in Boston. Is this indeed about the size and scope of the Poldi-Pezzoli?

--it's hard to tell how large the Brera and Ambrosiana museums are. Are they large (like The Louvre, can't possibly see in a day), small (the Peggy Guggenheim in Venice, where about an hour or so is good), or somewhere in between (like the Pitti Palace museum in Florence or Tate in London, where ca. 3 hours covers a good bit of it)?

--it looks like the La Scala Museum is not large. True?

I'm very mindful of hours and days and will carefully take this into account when assembling the final itinerary.

Excellent choices. Hope you compose a trip report when you return. It's been many years since I visited Milan, so others should have good advice. Your itinerary is very ambitious for such a short time.

I can help with a couple of your questions. Ambrosiana is small not like the Louve. My wife and I visited Milan in Sept 2011 and spent about 2-3 hours there, with most of the time taking in the display of Da Vinci's Codex Atlanticus.

The Duomo was well worth the time both the interior and the roof. The Duomo Museum was closed during our visit and I am not sure if it is yet open. The Chiesa Santa Maria Presso di San Satiro is a very short walk from the Duomo. We wanted to see "Bramantes" sacresty perspective. The visit took all of 30 minutes. Again time well spent. We also visted Chiesa di Sant'Ambrogio and felt that was well worth our time. Lastly we did enjoy the Castello Sforzesco. There is a wide variety of art and artifacts to see there.

Milan is easy to get around in or should I say under. The metro lines are efficient and easy to navigate.

The museum inside La Scala isn't large, but it's packed with artifacts. The emphasis is on opera, but there are some displays about other types of theatrical and musical entertainments which have been staged in La Scala. As part of the museum entry ticket, we were allowed access to other parts of the building and one of the boxes for views of the interior.

I would have a hard time prioritizing the other museums you mention. I will say the Poldi-Pezzoli is one of those museums that you either breeze through or spend hours, depending on your interest in objects other than paintings. I loved it.